The ultimate goal for our crews is to stay safe on the job, while keeping the roads clear and safe for drivers – that means continued training is essential for the state’s 450-plus snowplow drivers.

This year, ADOT leadership put together a winter readiness training workshop for all employees involved in winter storm maintenance. The event provided a comprehensive look at everything and anything related to winter storm maintenance and safety.

State Maintenance Engineer Lonnie Hendrix explains in the video above why this training is so vital.

“To make sure we’re as prepared as possible to make the roads and highways in the state safe and open during winter storms,” he said. “As a winter storm passes through the state we typically mobilize half the value of our entire equipment fleet. We’ll mobilize half of our entire highway maintenance work force. We’ll spend millions of dollars on chemicals. So these events are very expensive. They’re very important to us and it’s important that we do a good job.”